We currently own a '91 Mojave and want another quad (so me and the wife can ride together). What should I look for in an older zuki and what year or years were the better ones to have? What were some problem areas that I should be aware of? How much should I pay for one thats in rideable shape? I dont want a nightmare but it doesnt have to be like new either.

 

A lot of people will tell you to avoid an 85 or 86 quadracer. I disagree. But beware! If you plan to upgrade with a lot of aftermarket parts then you will have a harder time finding them for an 85 or 86. The engines did not have powervalves and consequently not quite as much power. They also have case reeds rather than a reed cage. They had different swingarms that were known to crack severly near the bearing carrier. The frames were also weaker and more prone to cracking. So really it depends what you want to do with it. I had one that was reasonably fast and dependable. Iliked it, but if you are gonna do much hard riding you probably would want to go with a later model. In 87 they went to a powervalved motor and changed some parts of the frame to make it sturdier. They went to a more conventional reed valve system as well. And a different exhaust. They also went to a different swingarm, and a wider seat. In 1988 they changed the reed cage again along with I believe some port dimensions. I had an 85 and my buddy had an 87, so I know them fairly well but the 88-92's I am not an expert on. I'm sure someone else knows more details but I don't believe they changed an awfull lot from 88-92. I know they changed the swingarm and carrier one more time and some cosmetic changes but beond that I don't know. Check for cracks near the front shock mounts on all models. Check for cracked swingarms on all models. On quad's that have sat a long time or have not had the motor taken out in a long time the swingarm pivot bolt is known to seize up. Everything will operate ok, it's just when you go to take it out it is next to impossible. Also check by all the weld areas for cracks in the frame. As for performance, my buddy had an 87 that was all stock except for a FMF pipe and siliencer and Boyesen reeds and he could beat his brothers ported and polished 92 that also had a FMF exhaust. I've heard that the 87's had bigger intake ports and a raised exhaust port but I don't know that for a fact. Well that's about all the info I have, good luck!

 

Well, I guess I'll shoot for an '87-'88 then. I'm mostly concerned with the chassis problems. The stronger engine is a definate plus as well.

Do you know of a good site that has classifieds or something? Thanks for the help, Aaron.

 

I'm almost possitive that the frame was strenghtened on the 88 and up models. A good classifieds site is Cycle Trader.

 

Hey I have an 86 LT250R so I have a little expierience with them.The 85-86 had Cylinder reed motors(the reeds are at the bottom of the cylinder)and they switched to case reed in 87.Not having a powervalve doesn't mean less power, it just means not as wide of a powerband.The 86 LT is faster than the same year TRX, so it is by no means slow.The chassis has the stigma of cracking under hard use along with the swingarm,I have no cracks in mine and I don't have personal expierience with it so I can't comment on how true it is, however if your looking at an 86 and it doesn't have any cracks,chances are it won't.My advice would be don't overlook a good condition 86.

 

I always thought that the term "case reeds" refered to the reeds on the bottom of the cylinder, the ones near the crank "case", like the ones on an 85 or 86. And a reed valve was the kind on the outside with a reedcage like the later models. That's what I've always thought, am I wrong about this? Not a big ussue, just wondering.

 

I think the best thing is to just look at the quad in the best condition I can afford and go from there. If I dont like the power plant I could always swap it out I suppose. The Mojave has "enough" power for me but I wouldnt mind more and I'm sure the LT250R in any year is considerably more powerful than the Mojave is. I'm only 5'11" and 165# so it doesnt take a whole lot to move me.

Are there any nice decal sets for the QR'ers? I was think of going with a yellow rear, black front, and yellow hood (this would match the Answer Edge apparell that is yellow). Know of a kit that would look good on those plastics (Maier)?

 

i had an 85 and it could smoke my friends slightly modded 400EX easily. my frame cracked over the left shock wel i dunno if i'd call it a crack it was actually a break. a bad one, and then i also cracked it underneath the seat but i attribute that to the fact that my counterbablncer came off so it just vibrated a whole lot. it was a fun quad though. there aren't any decal sets that i know of but i saw this one quadracer that had a purple hood and a yellow frame and the seat was blue and yellow instead of just blue and it looked awesome. you can see it in my yahoo photo album, its in the my photos folder or somethin like that.

PS- maier plastic sucks! especially their quadracer hoods, they look like crap, stick to stock plastic even if it is more expensive.

 

I would try to get one from 87-92 since the frames, swingarm, and front suspension (more travel I believe) were improved on those models. And I think the 85-86's were 5 speeds (correct me if I'm wrong), but from 87 on, they were 6 speeds with powervalves, as mentioned before. But I do see a lot more 85's and 86's for sale around here than the later models. When I was buying mine, I had to choose between an 87 and a 90 LT250. I also could've got an 87 'Zilla, but I do too much riding in the woods to only own one of those. Although my local parts dealer who owns the shop and had all 3 for sale was trying to talk me into the 500, I decided against it for my own health. I ended up buying the 90 because it was newer, had a lot more extras already on it and the 87 didn't have a headlight and I like to ride around at night. But I wish I could've got both because the engine on the 87 was built and I imagine that it would've really ripped. I'm happy with the power of mine though, it will outrun 2 of my friends' 2000 stock Banshees by a little, which isn't too bad for a 250 that isn't ported. Whatever year you do get, it's gonna outperform a Mojave as long as its not always broken.

As for the plastic, I wouldn't completely rule out Maier unless money isn't a concern. I just got a full set of their black fenders w/ the race-cut fronts for mine from Recreation Unlimited about a month ago. It cost me about $235 total and it was here 3 days after I ordered it. I was very suprised to see that the holes were already drilled in it and it didn't look too bad actually. I've seen quads that were about a year old that had plastic that looked much worse. I did keep the stock hood though (and painted the grill chrome), I do agree that Maier's look like crap. Plus its about twice as thick as the stock plastic. I know it doesn't look as nice as stock fenders would, but for the price, I couldn't pass it up.

 

I was just using Maier as an example, it didnt have to be theres. I planned on a yellow hood anyhow so I could stick with the stocker and the stock rear fender and get the black fronts. It was just an idea. If I could find some good decals to go with it it would have looked nice (in my head anyways [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] ). I'm really looking at the 400EX's right now too. Decisions decisions...